Disc vs. Holy

Post by Gnostik

So I want to play a healer, since it seems obvious to me that they will be in high demand following the release of WotLK and a new tanking class. I am leaning toward Priest, however I have a dilemma. I am primarily a PvP player, and Discipline is clearly the favored arena spec. At the same time, it's very important to me to have a character who can both PvP and PvE with the same spec.

So the first question is: does a Discipline Priest have a role to play in PvE? How is it for healing heroics? Does it have any place in a raid?

I am not too worried about BT/Hyjal hardcore raiding guilds. But having a place in Kara/SSC would be nice.

I also have another question: how bad is Holy for PvP? To be honest I am much more drawn to the Holy tree, but I never see a full Holy Priest in a highly ranked arena team. Is Pain Suppression just that good? This is what I've concluded, since PS seems to be the only notable gain that full Discipline brings over full Holy. I take it the deep Holy talents do nothing for you in the arena?

Is Circle of Healing useless in PvP? On paper it seems like it could be pretty effective, especially in 5v5. But I'm guessing that other options like ProM or Binding Heal are preferable, or else more people would have CoH.

Since Holy is obviously better for PvE, if a full Holy build could be made to work in PvP that's what I'd want. Please fill me in on the reality of how the Priest class plays in PvP.

Also any general thoughts on how your Priest plays in the arena, especially compared to a Resto Shaman or Druid, are welcome. I still haven't settled on which one I want to play. I am leaning toward Priest or Shaman, since I already have a (non-Resto) Druid. (Paladin is not on the list as of right now.)

Post by Luraz

Had a nice reply and then deleted it...twice! Now for the short version :o)

Yes, IMHO, Pain Suppression is just that good. As a cloth healer, Priests often become primary targets in PvP encounters, and the Holy tree just doesn't offer the survivability that Disc does. Remember, a dead Priest does 0 healing.

PvP priests are all about offensive & defensive dispels, mana burns, and quick heals. I just don't see a deep Holy priest doing well in Arena. You wouldn't survive long enough to do much of anything.

Druids are an uber-popular choice for Arena healing right now, but you probably already knew that. But if you're looking forward to WotLK, Priests (disc priests in particular) are in line to receive some sweet new spells and talents...Well, it's 2 A.M. so that's all I can come up with...surely someone else will have some more to say.

Post by mbuinfested

A priest without pain supression is sorta like a lock with half the hp and no soul link in arena. Your gunna die fast. Any decent rogue/warrior/mage/warlock/hunter/(insert class here) will easily lock you down and solo you, whether it be 2s 3s or 5s. That being said, Disc is the "PvP" Healing spec for priests. It isn't the best at making your heals go >9000, but its meant purely for survival. As a disc priest in the arena, i spend 90% of my time running. CoH cannot replace the survivability you get from the deep disc talents.

Holy on the other hand, is what makes priest so valuable in PvE. CoH is one of the best skills a priest has when it comes to 25 man raid content. Even ZA with a holy priest makes timed event easy. This is the hardest part of priesting in my opinion. If you wanna do well pve, go holy, pvp, go disc or shadow. It never works out to stay the same spec if you wanna do well in either.

WotLK I can easily disc priests being raid viable, but as for now, discipline viability stops at imp spirit buff. I've been a priest for 3.5 years now, and I've tried everything lol. Again though, no one can tell you how to play your character, everyone has their own ways of doing things, and the ones with better methods, do better.

Post by Slokov

If you want to do both PVP and PVE, Disc is definitely the best way to go. You will be very hard to kill and your healing will be more than enough to keep your group alive. If you have another healer in your group, Shadow becomes viable too. The passive healing is more than good enough to support the other healer while you DPS down mobs.

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